Dr. Leona Stucky-Abbott

• Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor
• Psychotherapist,
  Supervisor, Trainer,
  Workshop Leader
• Graduate/Post-Graduate Teacher
• Founding Director, Southwest Institute for Religion & Psychotherapy
• Clinical Director, Center
  for Counseling and Psychotherapy
• Diplomat Certificate, AAPC
• Board of Directors, American Association of Pastoral Counselors
• Doctor of Ministry, with honors, SMU
• B.A. summa cum laude, Boston College
• Psychology Today profile

About Dr. Leona Stucky-Abbott

When I meet with a client, I bring to our encounter the best of my life experiences — laughter, compassion, direct interaction, wit, therapeutic skill and wisdom.  I look forward to the ways we will connect and learn from one another.

Education and Experience

I received a degree in psychology and philosophy at Boston College before plunging into seminary, first at Andover Newton and then at Eden. Combining an education in theology and psychotherapy constitutes an arduous journey, but it seemed important to address both the human psyche and the human spirit. I earned my doctorate degree from Southern Methodist University, and a Diplomate certificate from the American Association of Pastoral Counselors — their highest credential — for teaching, supervising, and offering therapy services.  I incorporate a broad-based spirituality into my work as a psychotherapist and have been professionally affiliated with United Church of Christ and Unitarian Universalist organizations.

After completing my formal education, I went on to develop a post-graduate training institute. My understanding of psychodynamic theory as well as other therapeutic approaches continued to grow as I taught them to others. Teaching and supervising practitioners was a tremendous learning experience and has been invaluable to me in my one-on-one work with individuals, couples and organizations.

After coming to Santa Fe, I worked with several consulting professionals in a business to help organizations and companies assess leadership and resolve problems that arise when colleagues work intensively with one another. I also continued my counseling and supervision practice. Currently, I am exploring creative ways to enhance communication with the human brain and thus to increase learning capabilities during therapy and in other interactive processes. This involves helping people construct their own personalized meditation tool.

Brief Biography

I grew up as a Mennonite farm girl in Middle America: a simple statement that obscures a deep and complex experience. I experienced the peace, joy and contentment of a pacifist life in the heart of Kansas. Amidst that peace, real life rushed at me. On that farm came the uproar of protest, of tragedy, and dread. Though we were a simple people, nothing simple could describe my family’s experience and nothing in my brand of faith could contain the difficulties. Still, our lives were picturesque. We laughed and loved, bound together by naïve goodness, heartfelt values that won our stern dedication, and the earthbound simplicity of raising animals, food, and a succession of children. We had it, lost it, and many of us lived to tell the story.

I stepped beyond 400 years of Mennonite practices to expand questions and seek other answers. Each learning experience added a new layer of consideration and often a new lens from which to understand.  College and graduate school added lenses and so have years of healing and teaching experiences.

Now

When I am not working, I like to read and play with various forms of creative writing. I love New Mexico landscapes, walking and driving in the open expanse, and exploring nature here and around the world, with friends and family. Being a grandma is a highlight of my life. I adore these little people and watching their relational capacities unfold before my eyes. I revel in their joy, love them and treasure our moments.

A Final Thought . . .

If not for struggles we wouldn’t be who we are. I would not have become a psychotherapist had I not learned the urgency of human need, the floods and droughts of spiritual life, the search for what is real within oneself and one's world, the triumph of working it through it, integrating it, and then working it some more. Together, you and I will discover how your challenges can be met in the present and become stepping stones to growth, empowerment and transformation.  I look forward to the opportunity to know you and assist you on your own unique path.